Celebrating more than three decades of recording, Texas veterans Omar and the Howlers combine live tracks with studio cuts on Essential Collection. From the start, Omar Kent Dykes and his shifting roster of players have kept faith with blues traditions while introducing touches of R&B and rock into their approach. Dykes’ grizzled growl and hefty guitar attack have only improved with the years, as these well-chosen recordings clearly show. Disc One is a tightly packed selection of the band’s signature tunes, ranging from the Bo Diddley–inspired “Magic Man” through the slow-burning “Bad Seed” and the menacing, Muddy Waters–like “Snake Oil Doctor.” “You Made Me Laugh” and “Jimmy Reed Highway” (a pair of lean ‘n’ mean collaborations with guitarist Jimmy Vaughan) round out the first disc in fine style. Disc Two highlights Dykes’ musical influences as he jams with organist Nick Connolly (among others) on material as disparate as Cannonball Adderley’s swinging “Work Song,” Clarence Brown’s raucous “That’s Your Daddy Yaddy Yo,” and his own smoldering “Sugar Ditch.”